03 May 2016

Out into the garden today: broccoli, marigolds, summer savory, two kinds of basil, green onions and chives, oregano, thyme, rosemary, borage. I hadn't realized how attractively textured the borage leaves are. I don't think I ever looked at them closely before.

I put the mints into bigger pots.

Loving the chocolate mint!

I fastened some planter boxes to the outer edge of deck railing, and planted them with nasturtiums (the sweet potato vine are still in pots, they just sit out here on sunniest days). The bungee cords are hooked and wired onto screws, and the boxes sit on other long screws fastened into the posts below. I'm a bit disappointed the last box I bought seems cheaper made than the others; the plastic is thinner and when I filled it, bows out a little. Instead of using ceramic shards for drainage I layered the bottom of the boxes with broken up styrofoam (finally a good use for that stuff). To keep them light.

Still have all these nasturtiums to put in the front yard!

And another jug full I'm not sure where they will go, but I'll find a good spot.

One planter box got herbs, to have a few close to the kitchen (for when I don't feel like tromping down the stairs to the garden space)- and they're only annuals- green onions, basil, summer savory. A tiny spider is already checking out the space.

I made some improvements on my coldhouse. The two middle shelves were resting on little brackets, only supported at four spaced-apart points, and they sagged frequently. I noticed that the upper shelf and lower shelves, which rested on supporting bars of the structure, don't sag nearly as much, I don't have to flip them as often. I bought some 3/4" square wooden dowels, cut to length, broke off the prior plastic brackets with a hammer and nailed the dowels in their place. The shelves are much firmer resting on the ledge I made.